Dvořák⎮Schubert

When you listen to the French alto Nathalie Stutzmann singing Bach’s »Erbarme Dich« from »St Matthew Passion«, it’s almost as if time stands still. There are very few artists who are able to blend the analytical and the emotional approach towards music in such a congenial way. On top of that, for quite a few years now, Nathalie Stutzmann has had an exceedingly successful career as a conductor and has been invited by many renowned orchestras across the globe.

An artist whose dedication to the message of music is marked by such warmth and authentic personal commitment is perfectly cut out for Schubert’s last symphony, the Great Symphony in C Major. In this oeuvre, Schubert shifts his visionary gaze towards spheres of light – he was never granted the opportunity to hear the composition during his lifetime. It was not until 1839, eleven years after the composer’s early death, that the symphony was premiered by the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, conducted by none other than Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. Around the same time, Robert Schumann raved about the »heavenly length of the symphony«.

The concert begins with a spirited opener: Three Slavonic Dances by Antonín Dvořák – brilliant compositions that seem to be based on traditional Czech and Ukrainian folk melodies, while in fact they are perfect imitations, created in the spirit of national romanticism. Dvořák originally composed them for piano four hands, however the immediate enthusiastic reaction of the audience prompted the composer to write a version for orchestra.